Based on the Ernest J. Gaines book by the same name, A Lesson Before Dying is the story of a young African American man wrongfully sentenced to death in rural Louisiana in 1948.

The sound design includes a subtle mix of 1940s jazz and contemporary music rooted in the same era, establishing play's setting while intimating the current relevance of its themes. The following transitional pieces were improvised by Joe Badascewski under the direction of Angela Baughman.

Telling it like it is

My antagonist stage debut!
In Connor McPhearson's stage adaptation of The Birds (yes, THAT Birds - the Daphne du Maurier's short story turned Hitchcock classic), three strangers huddle in a New England cottage and pray that the attacking birds can't peck their way through the boarded up windows.
Throughout the show, the subtle sound of birds impatiently waiting just outside the door kept the characters - and audience - on edge.

Photo credit: Praise Waters

When Birds Attack

A soundscape created for my favorite insomniac

Stormy Countryside

A remix of Vivaldi's Mandolin Concerto in C, created as incidental music for Kinetici Theatre's production of "The Liar. " 
David Ives translated this 17th century French play into modern English, using iambic pentameter. The result was a hilarious mashup of old and new, echoed by the set, costume and sound designs.

Summer Girls

An audio collage depicting a life journey. Nearly 80 years of life- 42 million moments- condensed into 187 seconds.  The piece includes a sample from The Books titled IDKT.

It was commissioned as part of the immersive theater piece "STRATA," which was featured on the July 2013 cover of American Theatre Magazine.

Forty Two Million Moments

Over The Falls

In “Time Trouble,” by Adam Arena & Maddox O’Neill, two middle schoolers revive grandpa's time machine to interview Olympic medalist Jesse Owens in 1936, but when their time machine goes awry, they find themselves surrounded by cavemen. This sound design includes a quick trip through music history and a lot of electromagnetic sounds.

Grandpa's Time Machine

An exhibit by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Recording, sound design and mix by Angela Baughman.

Angela Baughman

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